Tag: university
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iPhone App Tests Selective Dominant-Ear Listening Behavior
Psychologists at University of Bergen in Norway wrote software that turns an iPhone into a device to test dichotic listening, behavior that combines language processing and attention. A team from Bergen’s research group examined the iPhone app’s validity and reliability in measuring dichotic listening, with the team’s results appearing online yesterday in the journal Frontiers…
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No Disability Improvement Seen from Clot Device After Stroke
A clinical trial shows devices inserted into an artery after a stroke to remove a blood clot, used with clot-dissolving drugs, do not improve chances of living independently after 90 days compared to the use of drugs alone. The results of the study, funded by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the…
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Trial Tests Tablet App to Assess Neuromuscular Performance
Biomedical researchers at Harvard University tested a computer tablet application to quickly assess neuromuscular disorders, such as those experienced by older adults. The team from Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and Institute for Aging Research at Harvard Medical School, with colleagues from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, published their findings online…
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Statistical Database Analysis Links Genes, High Cholesterol
Researchers at University of Massachusetts in Amherst and University of Pennsylvania developed a technique for analyzing public databases with open-source software to discover populations at genetic risk for disease at lower cost. The team led by UMass biostatistician Andrea Foulkes (pictured right) reported its findings yesterday in the online journal PLoS One. The technique called…
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Nanotech Capsule Delivers Cancer Drugs, Spares Healthy Cells
Engineers at University of California in Los Angeles and University of Southern California developed tiny degradable capsules that can deliver cancer treatments directly to tumors, sparing healthy cells from damage. The team led by UCLA professor Yi Tang published its findings online in the journal Nano Today (paid subscription required). Tang (pictured left) and colleagues…
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Study to Test if Hearing Aids Reduce Falls by Elderly
Researchers at University of Texas in Dallas and North Texas University in Fort Worth are evaluating if hearing aids and related technologies can improve the balance of people with auditory problems. The study is funded by a $100,000 grant from the Texas Medical Research Collaborative. Sense of balance relies on the vestibular system of the…
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3D Printing Reproduces Human Embryonic Stem Cells
Biomedical engineers at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, U.K. and the company Roslin Cellab also near Edinburgh developed a lab technique with ink-jet printing to build human embryonic stem cells. The team led by Heriot-Watt professor Will Wenmiao Shu published its findings yesterday in the journal Biofabrication (available free with regisration for 30 days). While…
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Modeling, Biotechnology Boost Antibiotic Impact on Pathogens
Biomedical engineers at Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering combined computer modeling with biotechnology techniques to weaken resistance of E. coli cells to antibiotics. The team led by Jim Collins, with colleagues from Boston University, published its findings today online in the journal Nature Biotechnology, and filed a U.S. patent for the technology.…
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Weaknesses Found in Online Banking, Facebook Security
Computer scientists at University of London’s Royal Holloway College found what they call major weaknesses in the security protocol for protecting online e-mail, Facebook, and financial transactions. The team led by Royal Holloway information security professor Kenny Paterson say they found the vulnerabilities in the transport layer security protocol designed to prevent eavesdropping, tampering, and…
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Techniques Developed for Defect-Free Graphene Formation
Researchers in the U.K., Germany, and Greece developed a method of forming graphene layers with uniform orientation and alignment, using established and inexpensive techniques. The team led by University of Oxford materials scientist Nicole Grobert published its findings online last week in the journal ACS Nano (paid subscription required). Grobert (pictured right), with colleagues from…